How not to light a bathroom

This past weekend I was in a Marriot in Florida and was disappointed to find such poor lighting in their main bathroom off the lobby. Now to the naked eye most would not see the issue, right?

Poor lighting example

It’s like a finding waldo example only this game might end badly when you go to apply your lipstick. Here’s the issue: The can lights are about 3″ past the the vanity. This effect highlights the vanity beautifully, but without additional lighting around the mirror the woman looking to fix her make-up, fluff her hair or pull that object out of her eye is going to be completely in the dark. As soon as I leaned in over the 24″ vanity to fix my lip gloss I might as well have been putting it up my nose because I couldn’t see anything. And when I stepped back to grab some light…..well I was so far away from the mirror I couldn’t tell my nose from my ears.

Design tip: Always layer your lighting especially in a bathroom. Put everything on dimmers and make sure there is plenty of light no matter where you stand. Have questions or comments? Email me at info@gatesinteriordesign.com